This invention relates generally to infant car seats which are placed on conventional automobile seats and more particularly to those employing an internal harness system to protect and restrain the child.
Infant car seats are becoming well known in the art because of the increasing need to travel with small children. It is impractical to permanently incorporate these types of seat with an automobile at the time of manufacture; therefore, it has been necessary to fashion portable units.
Since it may be necessary to carry these infant car seats to and from the automobile, it is advantageous to construct them from lightweight materials which have a high strength associated therewith. This has primarily been accomplished by incorporating a rigid plastic seat structure with a support frame composed of metal tubes adapted to support the seat structure above the automobile seat. Moreover, by supporting the seat structure about the seat, the child is able to view out the windows of the automobile.
The seat structure may be contoured to provide a headrest integral with a back portion. Secured to the back portion is a bottom portion which may have side arm rests extending upwardly therefrom. The entire seat structure may be provided with protective upholstery to shield the child and increase the child's comfort.
It has also been found that the safety belts provided with most passenger automobiles are not adapted for use with a child. Consequently, it is desirable to provide independent harness and restraint systems with infant car seats. Various previous manufacturers of these infant car seats have utilized front shields as restraint or protective mechanisms, which in their operative position are disposed forward of the child and are operative to protect the child in the event of a rapid deceleration of the automobile. These front shields may be equipped with padding or protective upholstery to further protect and increase the comfort of the child.
Other manufacturers have used a seat belt arrangement with the infant car seat to restrain the child in the event of a rapid deceleration of the automobile. Often seat belts do not provide adequate support for the child.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,290,092 to Howard, 3,206,247 to Johnson and 3,101,972 to Laughlin wherein infant car seats are disclosed which are portable and can be carried into an automobile and connected to the automobile seat or merely made to rest on the automobile seat. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,669,492 to Peterson, 3,645,548 to Briner and 2,864,429 to Combs wherein infant car seats are employed in an automobile and are secured to the automobile seat by in some manner hooking the child car seat over the back of the automobile seat.
It is apparent that the infant car seats described in the aforementioned disclosures illustrate means by which children may be transported within an automobile. However, adequate protection and support for the child are not provided by many of the car seats shown. Thus, the child is prone to slouch or bend forward, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the infant car seat in the event of an accident or rapid decleration. Moreover, it is often difficult to determine if the safety belts are securely fastened or whether any activity by the child may have caused their latching mechanism to open.
Furthermore, existing devices which have a front shield disposed forward of the child occasionally make removal of the child from the infant car seat difficult. Even if the front shield is rotated to a position such that the child may be removed, the front shield may assume its original position, thereby causing some impediment to the removal of the child.
Lastly, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,556 to Hyde, et al., wherein an infant car seat is illustrated which has substantial advantages over those previously available. In that disclosure an infant car seat has a front shield disposed in close proximity to the child for protective purposes. A crotch strap is operative to prevent the child from sliding below the front shield.